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NASCAR All-Star Race needs an overhaul

July 4, 2012

NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson cruised to a win in the annual All-Star race. Columnist Al Pearce has some ideas to make the race a little more exciting. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Next year’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is 10 months away, plenty of time for NASCAR to once again change the race format. Of course, that happens a lot. The format for the nonpoints, million-to-win, invitation-only exhibition changes about as often as a political candidate’s stump speech.

This year’s format was different from last year’s, which was different from the year before and the year before. The winners of this year’s four 20-lap heats moved to the front of the pit line prior to the mandatory stop before the 10-lap, million-to-win shootout. Jimmie Johnson won the first heat and with nothing to gain by running hard, finished 21st, 21st and 19th in the next three heats. He was still allowed to pit first, then restarted first and easily won the 10-lap shootout.

NASCAR and Sprint can make that sort of lollygagging a thing of the past by doing this next year: Add each driver’s finishes after the four heats and grid them for the shootout based on low score getting the pole, second-lowest beside him on row one, third-lowest starting third, etc. And while they’re at it, make the shootout 20 laps and require a four-tire, green-flag pit stop.

Johnson, for example, will have 11 points if he wins the first heat and is third, second and fifth in the next three next year. Tony Stewart will have nine points if, for example, he finishes second, third, first and third. If Kyle Busch wins two heats and is second and third in the others, he’ll have seven points. In this scenario—as in a cross-country meet—low score is good. In fact, the lower the better, with four a perfect score. Break any ties by using each driver’s qualifying position.

To be clear: Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus did nothing unsportsmanlike at Charlotte in May. Neither did Matt Kenseth and Jimmy Fennig (they won the second heat), Brad Keselowski and Paul Wolfe (they won the third) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte (they won the fourth heat and didn’t have a chance to sandbag). Each team played exactly by the rules. They knew that by winning a heat race they’d have an opportunity to start the shootout near the front. None would have gained anything by running hard until the shootout.

Under this format, drivers hoping to win the million dollars will have to run hard in all four heats. With 21 points, Earnhardt Jr. would have started on the pole this year. With 22 points, Marcos Ambrose would have started second. A.J. Allmendinger (24 points) and Jeff Gordon (28) would have started third and fourth. Johnson’s 62 points would have put him deep on the grid and probably kept him from winning.

It’s a certainty that Johnson, Kenseth and Keselowski wouldn’t have sandbagged under this format. With each finish position costing them a point—and each point getting them deeper on the grid—they would have raced hard in each heat. Johnson wouldn’t have been able to finish 21st, 21st and 19th after winning the first heat. Kenseth wouldn’t have been able to finish 17th and 20th after winning the second heat. And Keselowski wouldn’t have ridden around to a 21st-place finish after winning the third heat.

If this format has a hole or two, NASCAR or Sprint will surely find them. But it’s certainly worthy of debate and some consideration. After all, it’s an all-star race, and who wants to see a bunch of “stars” (and former champions) simply riding around listlessly for much of the night? What do they think this is, the NFL Pro Bowl?